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Kilmaluag Formation
The Kilmaluag Formation is a Middle Jurassic geologic formation in Scotland. It was formerly known as the Ostracod Limestone for the abundance of fossil freshwater ostracods within it. The Kilmaluag Formation is very fossiliferous, with ostracods, gastropods, bivalves, trace fossil burrows, and vertebrate fossil remains. Vertebrate fossils include fish, crocodylomorphs, mammals, small reptiles, amphibians and some large reptile remains including dinosaurs and pterosaurs.Panciroli E, RBJ Benson, S Walsh, RJ Butler, TA Castro, MEH Jones, SE. Evans. 2020Diverse vertebrate assemblage of the Kilmaluag Formation (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) of Skye, Scotland Earth and Environmental Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh nline1-22 Geology The Kilmaluag Formation is Bathonian, and dates to around 167 million years old. It is part of the Great Estuarine Group of the Hebrides Basin, a series of sediments laid down as the land rose and fell in the area running between what is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Formation (stratigraphy)
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exposed in a geographical region (the stratigraphic column). It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, the study of strata or rock layers. A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness (geology), thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form. They may consist of a single lithology (rock type), or of alternating beds of two or more lithologies, or even a heterogeneous mixture of lithologies, so long as this distinguishes them from adjacent bodies of rock. The concept of a geologic formation goes back to the beginnings of modern scientific geology. The term was used by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) because they are the most resistant minerals to weathering processes at the Earth's surface. Like uncemented sand, sandstone may be any color due to impurities within the minerals, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, certain colors of sandstone have been strongly identified with certain regions. Rock formations that are primarily composed of sandstone usually allow the percolation of water and other fluids and are porous enough to store large quantities, making them valuable aquifers and petroleum reservoirs. Quartz-bearing sandstone can be changed into quartzite through metamorphism, usually related to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Marble Formation
The Forest Marble is a geological formation in England. Part of the Great Oolite Group, it dates to the late Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Middle Jurassic, Europe)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 538–541. . Lithology The primary lithology of the formation typically consists of greenish grey variably calcareous silicate mudstone, with lenticular cross bedded limestone units deposited in a marine setting. Dinosaurian fauna Ornithischians Saurischians Microvertebrate fauna Despite the formation being nearly entirely marine, at several localities abundant remains of terrestrial microvertebrates are found, the primary locality being the Kirtlington Mammal Bed (designated 3p) in Kirtlington Quarry near Kirtlington, Oxfordshire. Another important locality is Watton Cliff near Eype in Dorset. Amp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauropoda
Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their body), and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land. Well-known genera include ''Brachiosaurus'', ''Diplodocus'', ''Apatosaurus'' and ''Brontosaurus''. The oldest known unequivocal sauropod dinosaurs are known from the Early Jurassic. ''Isanosaurus'' and ''Antetonitrus'' were originally described as Triassic sauropods, but their age, and in the case of ''Antetonitrus'' also its sauropod status, were subsequently questioned. Sauropod-like sauropodomorph tracks from the Fleming Fjord Formation (Greenland) might, however, indicate the occurrence of the group in the Late Triassic. By the Late Jurassic (150 million yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wareolestes
''Wareolestes rex'' ("Ware's Brigand king") is a mammaliaform from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) rocks of England and Scotland. It was originally known from isolated teeth from England, before a more complete jaw with teeth was found in the Kilmaluag Formation of Skye, Scotland. Etymology ''Wareolestes rex'' was named by Eric Freeman, who named it for Dr. Martin Ware "in recognition of this major contribution" to Freeman's successful work. The second part of the generic name, ''lestes'', comes from the Greek for ''brigand''. The species name ''rex'', Latin for ''king'', is both in recognition of the relatively large size of this Mesozoic mammaliaform, and a pun on the name of Mr E. J. King. Discovery ''Wareolestes rex'' was first found in and named from the Forest Marble Formation of Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, England. The holotype is a single molar tooth, originally described as a lower molar, but later argued to be an upper molar.Hahn G., Sigogneau-Russell D. and Gogefroit P. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeoxonodon
''Palaeoxonodon'' is an extinct genus of Cladotherian mammal from the Middle Jurassic of England and Scotland. Discovery The first fossils of ''Palaeoxonodon ooliticus'' were found in the Kirtlington cement quarry, Oxfordshire, England. This site was rich in Mesozoic mammal remains from the Bathonian Forest Marble Formation. Later, two more species of ''Palaeoxonodon'' were named from the same site, ''P. leesi'' and ''P. freemani''.Sigogneau-Russell D. 2003. Holotherian mammals from the Forest Marble(Middle Jurassic of England). ''Geodiversitas'', 25, 501–537. All of these fossils were individual teeth. However, a recent fossil recovered from the Kilmaluag Formation of Skye, Scotland comprised a lower jaw with five molar teeth, four premolars, a canine and one incisor present. This more complete fossil suggests that the separate species previously named from England were in fact all the same species, ''P. ooliticus'', and only appeared different due to their differing positio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stereognathus
''Stereognathus'' is an extinct genus of tritylodontid cynodonts from the Middle Jurassic of the United Kingdom. There is a single named species: ''S. ooliticus'', named after the Great Oolite deposits of England. A second species, ''S. hebridicus'', was named after the Hebrides in Scotland, where it was found; it was synonymized with ''S. ooliticus'' in 2017. Discovery and naming ''S. ooliticus'' was the first tritylodontid species ever found, being described by Charlesworth in 1855 and later by Sir Richard Owen. In 1972, ''S. hebridicus'' was named from several postcanine teeth recovered in Bathonian age deposits on the Isle of Skye in Scotland by palaeontologists R. J. G. Savage and Michael Waldman.Waldman, M and Savage, R.J.G 197The first Jurassic mammal from Scotland Journal of the Geological Society of London 128:119-125 Despite being the first tritylodontid genus found and named, ''Stereognathus'' remains poorly represented, being known mainly from isolated molar teeth. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tritylodontid
Tritylodontidae ("three-knob teeth", named after the shape of their cheek teeth) is an extinct family of small to medium-sized, highly specialized mammal-like cynodonts, bearing several mammalian traits like erect limbs, endothermy and details of the skeleton. They were the last-known family of the non-mammaliaform synapsids, persisting into the Early Cretaceous. Most tritylodontids are thought to have been herbivorous, feeding on vegetation, such as stems, leaves, and roots, although at least one may have had a more omnivorous diet. Tritylodontid fossils are found in the Americas, South Africa, and Eurasia—they appear to have had an almost global distribution, including Antarctica. Description The skull of tritylodontids had a high sagittal crest. They retained the primitive condition of the joint between the quadrate bone of the skull and the articular bone of the lower jaw—the retention of the joint is one of the reasons they are technically regarded to not be mammals, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borealestes
''Borealestes'' was a genus of docodontan from the Middle Jurassic of Britain, first discovered on the Isle of Skye near the village of Elgol. It was the earliest mammaliaform from the Mesozoic found and named in Scotland. A second species and was later found in other Middle Jurassic sites in England, but is now shown to be a different genus. A new species, ''B. cuillinensis'' was named in 2021, also from Skye. Etymology The genus name is derived from the Greek Boreas and Latin Boreal, meaning ''northern'', the Greek listís meaning ''brigand'' or ''rogue''. The specific name of ''B. serendipitus'' comes from the noun ''serendipity'', relating to making a happy and unexpected discovery by accident. The species name ''B. cuillinensis'' comes from the Cuillin mountains on Skye, which are near the discovery site, and the cusps of the teeth resemble the peaks of the mountains. Discovery The first fossil of ''Borealestes serendipitus'' was discovered by Michael Waldman during a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Docodont
Docodonta is an order of extinct mammaliaforms that lived during the Mesozoic, from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. They are distinguished from other early mammaliaforms by their relatively complex molar teeth, from which the order gets its name. Until recently, Docodonta were represented primarily by teeth and jaws found across former Laurasia, (modern-day North America, Europe, and Asia). However, recent discoveries in China include some exceptionally well preserved, almost complete body fossils. Description Skeletal traits Docodonts have a long and low mandible (lower jaw), formed primarily by the tooth-bearing dentary bone. The dentary connects to the cranium via a joint with the squamosal, a connection which is strengthened relative to earlier mammaliaforms. The other bones in the jaw, known as postdentary elements, are still connected to the dentary and lie within a groove (the postdentary trough) in the rear part of the dentary’s inner edge. Nevertheless, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Waldman (palaeontologist)
Michael Waldman is a British palaeontologist known for his work on fossil fish, mammals, and reptiles. He also discovered the globally important fossil site of Cladach a'Ghlinne, near Elgol on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. This site exposes the Kilmaluag Formation and provides a valuable record of Middle Jurassic ecosystems. During the 1970s he visited the site several times with fellow palaeontologist Robert Savage. The fossil turtle '' Eileanchelys waldmani'' was named after Michael in recognition of his notable contribution to palaeontology. Academic career Michael gained his PhD at Monash University in 1968. He worked as a research assistant at University of Bristol in the early 1970s working alongside Robert Savage. He went on to teach at Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. Michael named the fossil fish '' Wadeichthys oxyops'',Waldman, M. Fish from the freshwater Lower Cretaceous of Victoria, Australia: with comments on the palaeo-environment. No. 9. Palaeontological Ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mudcrack
Mudcracks (also known as mud cracks, desiccation cracks or cracked mud) are sedimentary structures formed as muddy sediment Desiccation, dries and contracts.Jackson, J.A., 1997, ''Glossary of Geology'' (4th ed.), American Geological Institute, Alexandria, VA, 769 p.Stow, D.A., 2005, ''Sedimentary Rocks in the Field'', Academic Press, London, 320 p. Crack formation also occurs in clay-bearing soils as a result of a reduction in water content. Formation of mudcrack Naturally forming mudcracks start as wet, muddy sediment desiccation, dries up and contracts. A strain is developed because the top layer shrinks while the material below stays the same size. When this strain becomes large enough, channel cracks form in the dried-up surface to relieve the strain. Individual cracks spread and join up, forming a polygonal, interconnected network of forms called "tesselations." If the strain continues to build the polygon start to curled upward. This characteristic can be used in geology t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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